President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Thursday, signed a new Atlantic Charter on Thursday, modeled after the 1941 agreement during World War II.
It outlines eight key areas on which the U.S. and the United Kingdom would collaborate.
The revamped charter, which comes during Biden’s first trip abroad as president, says it builds “on the commitments and aspirations set out eighty years ago, affirms our ongoing commitment to sustaining our enduring values and defending them against new and old challenges.”
The key areas include defending democracy, reaffirming the importance of collective security and ensuring a fair and open global trading system, the document said.
It is to combat the modern challenges of cyberthreats and climate change and to bringing the pandemic to an end.
The Charter also intend to strengthen the institutions, laws, and norms that sustain international co-operation to adapt them to meet the new challenges of the 21st century.
Biden and Johnson agreed to the revamped accord during a bilateral meeting Thursday at Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in the southwest of England ahead of the G-7 summit with other world leaders, which starts Friday.
As a result of the agreement, Biden and Johnson will work to reopen travel between the U.S. and the U.K. as soon as possible.
They plan to create a new travel task force that will make recommendations about safely reopening international travel.
Speaking to reporters from St. Ives afterward, Biden said he had a “very productive meeting” with Johnson, adding that they discussed “ambitious” goals on climate change.
The US President added that they talked about “shared sacrifices” service members from both countries made in Afghanistan.
“Many people in the U.K. and U.S. have been prevented from seeing family and friends for over 400 days as a result of coronavirus travel restrictions,” Johnson’s office said.
In addition, “The task force will work to explore options for resuming up U.K.-U.S. travel and ensure that the U.K. and U.S. closely share thinking and expertise on international travel policy going forward.”
Recall that the initial Atlantic Charter was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941, outlining their goals for after World War II.
